Cracks in the Interior Walls

Cracks in your interior basement walls are a possible symptom of foundation problems that may require repair, but not necessarily.

Some basement wall cracks occur simply due to concrete shrinkage from when the home was built. If these cracks aren’t leaking or getting larger, then most likely there’s no issue to be concerned about.

If the crack is large or the basement wall is bulging and/or bowing, this could be a symptom of a different issue. And may require a professional to take a look to see what the cause of the crack is.

Here are a few things to look at to try to understand the problem:

• Is the floor on either side (or both sides) of the wall uneven or sloping?
• Have windows and/or doors in the home started to stick or open/close improperly?
• Have you noticed stair-step-shaped cracks in the exterior wall near the interior wall with the crack?
• Have you seen or is there evidence of water leaking through the crack?

Possible Causes of Interior Wall Cracks

Two possible causes of cracks in interior walls are uneven settling of the soil beneath the foundation and hydrostatic pressure from wet soil standing against the outside foundation wall.

If you think your foundation is suffering from one of these reasons – or the wall crack is leaking – call us and we’ll have one of our highly trained and certified foundation specialists out for a free inspection and price quote. Our specialists will help you to understand what is causing your foundation wall cracks and design a custom solution to address your problem.

As water is generally a culprit to a wall crack issue, here are a few quick tips that will help:

• Keep your gutters functioning properly – keep them clean and directing water away from the foundation.
• Make sure surface water drains away from the foundation instead of pooling near the house.
• Do not plant trees too close to the house – roots can break the foundation.

Contact your nearest ‘58 Foundations’ dealer to learn more about our foundation repair solutions and to schedule for a free inspection.